Sox 6, Reds 4 (10)
WP: Papelbon (3-2)
LP: Lincoln (0-2)
SV: Hansen (1)
HRs: BOS-Youk (11), Crisp (3); CIN-Dunn (18), Phillips (13), Encarnacion (11)
SUMMARY:
After the Boston bullpen blew yet another lead, including a rare blown save by Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis capped off a successful return to his home town when he hit a home run off Mike Lincoln in the top of the 10th to give the Sox a rare and much-needed road victory.
#1 STUNNER Youk 3-5, 1R, 2BI, 2K
Is there a better way to return home, with 150 family & friends in the stands, than to hit a game-winning extra inning home run against the team you loved growing up, and that snubbed you in the draft just a few years ago?
Thought not.
THE BIGGEST LOSER: Lincoln 1.1IP, 3H, 2ER, 1BB, 2K, 2HR, 29P
The Reds had all the momentum after tying the game with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, but Lincoln put out that fire quicker than you can say "longball" as he surrendered back-to-back homers to Youk and Coco in the top of the 10th.
RECAP:
"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUKKKKK!"
The familiar chant that is heard at both Fenway Park and stadiums all over the Nation every time the good-natured, high-strung Sox first baseman comes to bat or makes a great defensive play was never heard in such full throat as it was this afternoon in his return to the city he grew up in.
In a storybook game that could have been penned by George Will Kevin Youkilis came back to the Queen City in grand style this afternoon, clubbing three hits and a pair of RBI with 100+ family members and friends sitting in the stands cheering for him, each hit bigger than the one that came before it.
The scene was made all the more amazing by the fact that he had struck out in his first two at bats of the day against hard-throwing Reds righty Edinson Volquez, perhaps because he was pressing, or perhaps because Volquez is good enough to do that to anyone.
But the stubborn, chrome-domed slugger, who has toned down his post-at bat antics since a dugout scuffle with teammate Manny Ramirez a week ago, fought through the butterflies and stayed patient, and he was rewarded with an experience he will never forget for the rest of his life.
And neither will the Reds.
To give you an idea of how big Youk is in Cincy, where he grew up, went to the University of Cincinnati and owns almost all the major offensive records at the school, when my son and I went to see the Big East college baseball championship a couple of weeks ago, players on the UC team were imitating his unique batting stance while goofing around in the on-deck circle before the game.
Simply put the "Greek God of Walks" is a god a UC and universally beloved in a city that has probably produced more home-grown major league talet than any other metropolis in the country outside of New York.
So for him to do what he did today, in a game that was an awesome, back-and-forth exciting affair right til the very end, was like living out a boyhood fantasy that any kid who's ever dreamed of being a major leaguer has ever had.
But the way things had gone just minutes before his dramatic homer it didn't look like the Sox were going to have anything to celebrate today.
Not after another bullpen implosion that saw three men waste a hard-fought 4-2 lead and a spectacular effort from Tim Wakefield that nearly sent the Sox to their 22nd road loss of the year.
Boston jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead against stud starter Volquez (7IP, 7H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 9K, 101P) when Jacoby Ellsbury led off the game with a single, went to second on a wild pitch by Volquez, stole third after one pitch to Dustin Pedroia and trotted home when cather Paul Bako threw the ball into right field trying to gun Ellsbury out.
But Cincy tied it right up when Dunn launched his second homer in two days and 18th of the season off Wakefield in the bottom of the 2nd inning, a blow that was lessened when Brandon Phillips got greedy after stealing second and was gunned down trying to take third when the ball got away from the Boston infield.
The mistakes continued as Boston took the lead in the fourth when J.D. Drew (2-5, 2R, 2B, 3B) tripled over Dunn's head in left field and then waltzed home on another wild pitch by Volquez.
Now the score was 2-1 Boston, although both starting pitchers were pitching brilliantly.
Wakefield (7IP, 4H, 2ER, 2BB, 6K, 2HR, 89P) continued to stymie the Cincy hitters, retiring 10 out of the next 16 Reds batters while Boston added to its lead on an RBI single by Youk, driving in Pedroia who had led off the sixth with an infield single.
Staked to a 3-1 lead Wake's bugaboo - the longball - came back to bit him again when he surrendered an upper-deck shot to Phillips (2-5, R, BI) to lead off the 7th to cut the Sox lead to 3-2.
But Boston quickly recaptured its 2-run lead off reliever David Weathers when Drew led off the 8th with a double, again to the opposite field, and Mike Lowell followed with an RBI single to push the lead to 4-2.
Unfortunately a botched play by third base coach DeMarlo Hale cost the Sox a chance at breaking the game open and preventing the late-inning heroics.
After Lowell's single Youk drove a pitch from Weathers over Jay Bruce's head to deep right center, but instead of settling for runners at second and third and no outs Hale sent Lowell home all the way from first where he was easily thrown out.
Still, a 4-2 lead with just six outs to go seemed pretty solid.
Except Oki shit the bed again.
Things started out bad when Bako hit the first pitch from Oki for a leadoff single, and when Bruce walked on four pitches one out later Tito quickly went to the pen and removed the struggling Japanese lefthander.
But instead of calling on Paps for the five out save, he brought in Manny Delcarmen, who immediately gave up an RBI single to pinch hitter Javier Valentin to cut the lead to 4-3.
The only thing that saved Boston from losing the game right there was Ken Griffey Jr (0-4, BB, 2K) swinging at a 3-0 pitch and grounding into an inning-ending double play, yet another in a long line of botched and boneheaded plays in this game.
No worries, though, as all paps had to do was get three outs and this one was in the bag.
Papelbon (1IP, 1H, 1ER, 1BB, 1K, 1HR) got Phillips and Dunn to each ground out to second to nearly wrap things up, but then he got sloppy with Edwin Encarnacion and the third baseman ripped a 2-2 offering into the left field stands for a game-tying, shock-inducing home run, and suddenly what looked like an exhilarating victory was resembled a devastating defeat.
And the came Youk.
After Lowell struck out to lead off the 10th, Youkilis pounced on a 2-2 fastball from Lincoln and deposited it into the right field seats for the game winner, and as his teammates and cheering section celebrated Coco cracked the next pitch to almost the exact same spot for a big insurance run, and at 6-4 Sox this one was all but wrapped up.
Sorta.
Craig Hansen relieved Paps and quickly retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the 10th before Jolbert Cabrera singled to center and Junior walked, but Hansen got Phillips to fly out to Drew on the warning track for the final out, and the fans piled onto Pete Rose Way knowing they got their money's worth.
And they were all chanting Yooooooouuuuuukkkk!
RECORD: 43-28
AL EAST: Up 1.5 gms
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Sun @ CIN 1:35 Beckett vs. Bailey
6.14.2008
Youk blasts game-winning home run in return to hometown
6.13.2008
Road woes continue as Masterson loses first game
Reds 3, Sox 1
WP: Harang (3-9)
LP: Masterson (3-1)
SV: Cordero (13)
HRs: BOS-None; CIN-Dunn (17), Bruce (4)
RECAP:
Aaron Harang turned in his best performance of the season and Cincy used the solid pitching and a pair of longballs to send Boston to its 21st road loss, third worst in the majors, in its first trip to Cincinnati since the 1975 World Series.
SUPERSTAR: Harang 7IP, 4H, 1ER, 0BB, 7K, 118P
Leave it to the Sox to bring out the best in a guy who hadn't won in a month and who had allowed 16 earned runs in his last three starts. Tonight Harang was an ace again, tossing five 1-2-3 innings and befuddling the Boston batters all night.
THE BIGGEST LOSER: J.D. Drew 0-4, 3K
The league's hottest hitter bottomed-out big time tonight, flying out once and striking out three times, once with the tying run on base in the 9th inning, to snap his hitting streak at 11 games.
Talk about coming down hard.
RECAP:
Thankfully, with the contest taking place in an NL park with NL rules, this game was quick and concise.
So this recap will be, too.
The road weary-ers continued their apocalyptic run away from Fenway, dropping another contest outside of the friendly confines, this time to a team that was 4-28 this season when scoring three runs or fewer coming into this game.
So much for that stat.
Boston played like a team that had forgot how to win, how to hit, or how to play baseball with passion in a game that had all the energy of a Yanni concert.
Coming off an exciting 9-game homestand in which the Sox averaged almost 6 runs per game and leading the AL in most offensive categories, all the blistering Boston bats could muster was one run on a double and four singles against a mediocre Reds team.
Shit the American League leaders in on base percentage and walks didn't even manage a base on balls in this one.
The worse part is Cincy only mustered four base hits, struck out 11 times, and STILL won the game.
Oy!
The loss certainly can't be blamed on starter Justin Masterson, although he was the unfortunate beneficiary of the sudden power outage. He picked up his first major league loss in his first road start despite his excellent effort (6.2IP, 4H, 3ER, 3BB, 9K, 2HR, 98P.)
The 24-year-old held the potent Cincy lineup in check for the most part and absolutely confounded rookie shortstop Paul Janish, who fanned three times against him, but Masterson was burned by a quartet of hard hit balls that ended up spoiling his night.
The Reds wasted no time jumping on the kid right away when fellow phenom, center- fielder Jay Bruce, slammed a 1-2 pitch over the rightfield wall leading off the bottom of the first to give Cincy a quick 1-0 lead.
But after Harang had retired the first nine batters, Boston answered back in the fourth when Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a double and two outs later Manny Ramirez (1-3, BI) sliced a single to deep right to drive in Ellsy and tie the game at one.
Who knew at the time that would be it as far as scoring for the Beantown boys?
Cincy, meanwhile, countered quickly, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning on a laser home run by Adam Dunn (1-2, R, BI, BB) that took about two seconds to get out and was only about eight feet off the ground, and the next on back-to-back doubles by Edwin Encarnacion and rookie sensation Joey Votto.
So it was 3-1 and all the scoring was done.
The worst part of it was Boston couldn't even come close to mounting a rally until it was almost too late, and when they did their best RBI guy was out of the lineup and sitting on the bench in crunch time.
The only hit the Sox got off Harang after the fourth was a single by fomer Cincy hero Sean Casey, who received a huge ovation in his first game back in the Queen City since leaving as a free agent three years ago.
Ironically it was Casey's 1500th career hit, so it was nice to see the Mayor reach a milestone in a place that means so much to him.
The next Boston hit came when Dustin Pedroia led off the 9th inning with a sharp single to right off closer Francisco Cordero, and with Drew and Manny's spot due up it looked like a game-saving rally could be underway.
But Drew struck out for the third time on the night and Manny was removed from the game after batting in the seventh inning due to his bad hammy, so instead Coco Crsip got the chance to tie the game.
Two outs later the game was over and Boston had its 21st road loss, and now it faces the daunting prospect of countering hard-throwing young ace Edinson Volquez with soft-tossing old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield on national television tomorrow.
Didn't I tell you this would be quick and concise?
NOTES:
-Sick Tek: the strep throat that struck Jason Varitek two nights ago kept him out of the lineup again tonight. He was replaced by Kevin cash, who will of course catch Wake tomorrow, giving Tek and extra day of rest
RECORD: 42-28
AL EAST: Up 1 1/2 gms
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Sat @ CIN 3:55 FOX Wakefield vs. Volquez
Interleague Series Preview: Sox @ Cincy
Cincinnati Reds (32-36).jpg)
NL Central: 11 1/2 GB
Streak: W1
Last 10: 4-6
NL Batting Stats (rank)
AVG: .251 (13)
RS: 307 (t7)
HRs: 76 (t4)
NL Pitching Stats (rank)
ERA: 4.49 (t12)
RA: 336 (3rd most)
SVs: 12 (13)
3 game series at Great American Ballpark
Game 1 Friday 7:10
Masterson (3-0, 2.59) vs. Harang (2-9, 4.31)
Game 2 Saturday 3:55 FOX
Wakefield (4-4, 4.33) vs. Volquez (9-2, 1.56)
Game 3 Sunday 1:35 TBS
Beckett (6-4, 4.22) vs. Bailey (0-2, 6.30)
KEY REDS:
-RF Ken Griffey Jr .256, 7HR, 30BI, 31R, 40BB, .365OBP he might not be the same "kid" who wowed baseball fans every time he came to the plate or took the field in his heyday, but after becoming just the sixth man to hit 600 home runs last week, the older Jr proved he's still got it
-LF Adam Dunn .229, 16HR, 41BI, 56BB, 66K, .397OBP the country-strong rightfielder has long been rumored to be traded to a contender such as Boston, and if the man they call Donkey has a big series it could be considered an audition for a deadline deal. Despite his hit-or-miss propensity and paltry average Dunn leads the league in walks and the team in OBP, and when he does get a hold of one it's a sight to see
-CF Jay Bruce .391, 3HR, 11BI, 14R, .480OBP, 17GP the phenom was brought up to the big club on May 27th and has been on a tear ever since. He hit 3 doubles and 3 home runs in his first seven games, including a walk off shot in the 10th inning against the Braves in his fifth career game, and should be a star in the league for years to come
-Edinson Volquez 9-2, 1.56ERA, 1.17WHIP, 96Ks, 3HR, .184BAA in 81IP he was the key piece in the trade that sent Josh Hamilton to the Rangers and the young righthander hasn't disappointed. The 24-year-old leads the league in ERA and strikeouts and is second in wins and is a true Cy Young contender on a lousy team
PREVIEW:
After playing the Baltimore Orioles, Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners for the better part of the season Boston gets to mix it up and head across league lines to take on the Cincinnati Reds in its first trip to the Queen City since the 1975 World Series.
The older members of the Nation will recall that memorable Fall Classic as one of the best of all time, featuring Fisk's historic homer, Dewey's spectacular catch and throw, and Pete Rose being named MVP in what at the time was a devastating 7 game loss for the locals.
But that was 1975 B.C. - before the championships - so the memories are all good now.
This series, the first between the clubs since 2005 when the Sox swept the Reds in three games at Fenway, should be interesting for many reasons.
1.) The Sox have yet to prove they can win on the road
Sure winning three straight in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago helped inch their road record towards respectability, but still a 14-20 mark away from Fenway for a team that supposed to be one of the best in baseball is not acceptable for the fans or the team; they need a sweep here to restore road credibility.
2.) Phenoms, phenoms everywhere
The Sox stud young starter Justin Masterson will try to keep his perfect record intact in the series opener tonight, while Cincy's Cy Young candidate, the electric Edinson Volquez, will put his 9-2 mark and league leading 96 strikeouts on the line against the best team in the American League tomorrow.
When you add in Jay Bruce and Jacoby Ellsbury, two of the brightest young centerfielders in the game and Reds rookie 1B Joey Votto, who has 11 homers 36 RBI, and what you've got is the makings of a Futures All Star team.
3.) History for and between the teams
These are two of the oldest and proudest franchises in baseball history, both located in terrific metropolitan areas with great fan bases and participated in one of the greatest World Series' in history.
Throw in a spectacular new ballpark that will be jam packed with a sea of Red and the fact that Terry Francona played for the Reds, former Boston folk hero Bronson Arroyo now pitches for the Reds, and the former (Sean Casey) and current (Youk) mayors of Cincy now play for Boston, and what you've got is a lot of MLB and cross-team history on the field this weekend.
The job of starting the series off on a good note falls on the strapping live arm of Masterson.
Making his first start away from Fenway, and obviously his first against an NL club, Justin will need to stay focused and use all of his pitches to remain ahead of the slugging but patient Reds hitters.
The rookie will be opposed by the veteran Aaron Harang. The staff ace of the last few years hasn't pitched all that poorly this season, but like Jeremy Guthrie last night has been victimized by terrible run support.
In his 15 starts this tear Cincy has scored 2 runs or less 8 times for the beefy righty and the offense is averaging a minuscule 2.90 RPG for him, good for 107th in the league for NL starters. Yikes.
So if Masterson continues to do what he has been doing, which is holding opponents to about 1 run per game, and JD Drew and Manny Ramirez continue to hit the cover off the ball, all signs point to a win in the opener and a great way to start off the weekend in Great American Ballpark.
Wonder how many times we'll hear the infamous phrase " and there's a long drive...if it stays, fair...HOME RUN!"
6.12.2008
Boston's longball barrage buries B-more
Sox 9, Orioles 2
WP: Lester (5-3)
LP: Guthrie (3-7)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Lowell (10), Drew (10), Youk (10); BAL-None
*Note: sorry I was late posting this but after I started it I watched the Celtics game, and after witnessing one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the NBA playoffs I was in no condition to blog about baseball! GO CELTS!
SUMMARY:
A trio of 10th home runs sent the Orioles out of Beantown on a sour note as Boston used a pair of two-run shots, from Youk and J.D. Drew, a grand slam by Mike Lowell and a solid start by Jon Lester to defeat the O's and take 2 of 3 in the series.
#1 STUNNER: Drew 2-4, 2R, 2BI, BB, 2B, HR
The torrid streak continues as Drew reached base three more times and smacked another two extra base hits, including his 6th homer in his last 11 games. He is now batting .500 in June (18-36) and is creeping up on Milton Bradley for the league lead in on base percentage.
This is the J.D. Drew the Sox expected to see when they laid out $70 mil for him a year and a half ago.
THE BIGGEST LOSER: Dennis Sarfate 1IP, 1H, 2ER, 1BB, 1K, 1HR
Starter Jeremy Guthrie didn't pitch well, but he left with a deficit of just 5-1. Chad Bradford chipped in with 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief, but then Sarfate let the game get away when he surrendered Youk's two-run homer in the seventh.
RECAP:
Whadda ya know, the game started at six and was over by nine!
Plus the Sox won and there were no fisticuffs or blown saves.
Now that's what I call a sweet win.
Boston dispatched the pesky Birds with a decisive seven-run victory that gave the Sox five wins in their last seven games against Baltimore, a team they (thankfully) won't see again until after the All Star break.
Like the game yesterday the Sox jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but this time instead of the Boston bullpen suddenly letting Baltimore creep back in the game the Boston batters kept adding to the lead to make sure there would be no Bird comeback or blown save tonight.
The Sox got on the board in the second inning against O's starter Jeremy Guthrie (4.2IP, 7H, 5ER, 5BB, K, HR, 107P) when Youk singled sharply to center with one out, moved to second on a groundout by Coco Crisp and came around to score on a single underneath the glove of first baseman Oscar Salazar for a 1-0 Sox lead.
The funny thing about that play is that normally Kevin Millar would have been over there and might have made the play, but he had to come out of the game after fouling a ball off his knee in the top of the second.
Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar eats you, Kevin.
The game stayed at 1-0 for a few innings as Guthrie continued to struggle, but caught a few breaks like when Youk got tagged out at home in the fourth and Kevin Cash, playing in place of Tek who has strep throat, couldn't capitalize with two men in scoring position
Jon Lester, meanwhile, was mowing through the Baltimore lineup, showing no ill effects of having his start pushed back a day due to his Raysbrawl suspension.
Lester (7IP, 7H, 2ER, 1BB, 3K, 101P) retired 13 of the first 17 Baltimore batters
before running into his only trouble of the night in the sixth inning. But by then the Sox lead had grown to 5-0, and it was another case of deja vu that brought them to that point.
Jacoby Ellsbury (1-5, R) started the fifth inning off with a single to right, then one out later moved to third base on a double to the base of the Wall by white-hot J.D. Drew. And then O's manager Dave Trembley did something that he can't really be blamed for, but it came back to bite him in the nads anyway:
he intentionally walked Manny Ramirez to get to Mike Lowell.
Granted most managers would make the same decision in his situation, what with Manny being a member of the 500 homer club and one of the most feared right handed hitters of all time, but sometimes playing the percentages doesn't always work out.
Just ask Jimmy Gobble.
On My 22nd at Fenway the Royals reliever was also instructed to walk Manny to load the bases and pitch to Lowell, and Lowell responded by taking him over the Monster for what wound up being the game-winning grand slam in an 11-8 Boston win.
Fast forward to tonight and it was deja vu all over again as Lowell (1-4, R, 4BI) took an 0-1 offering from Guthrie and golfed it over the Monster for a back-breaking granny, and from there it was all over but the piling on.
As I said Lester did hit a rough patch when he surrendered three doubles in the sixth inning to cut the Sox lead to 5-2, but when Audrey Huff (2-4, BI) inexplicably failed to score from second on a two-out single by Ramon Hernandez that would have sliced the Boston lead to two runs, the game was all but over.
The Sox put this one away against a pair of Baltimore relievers when Youk (2-2, 2R, 2BI, 2BB) drove the first pitch he saw from Dennis Sarfate over the wall for a two run homer after Manny had walked again, and in the 8th Drew added to his incredible June numbers and put a cap on this game and series when he blasted a two-run shot off Jamie Walker for the final margin of 9-2.
So a lot of things went right for Boston and the Nation tonight. Drew continued to make people forget Papi has been out of the lineup. Youk showed signs of coming out of his month-long slump. Boston blasted three homers for the first time in a couple of weeks. Jon Lester looked great after an unexpected extra day of rest.
And the game ended in less than three hours, allowing all of us to catch a miraculous Celtics comeback to take a 3-1 Finals lead over the hated Fakers.
A good night at the old ballyard indeed.
NOTES:
-Going Streakin': Manny had his 15 game hitting streak stopped with his pair of walks, while Drew extended his to 11 games; he has now hit safely in every game since Ortiz went on the DL
-Lugo-no: the Sox shortstop committed his league-leading 13th error on a routine grounder in the 8th inning. Is he a remake of Rentanerror or what?
RECORD: 42-27
AL EAST: Up 2.5 gms
STREAK: W2
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Fri @ CIN 7:10 Masterson vs. Harang
Game Preview: Orioles @ Sox GM3
Guthrie (3-6, 3.40) vs. Lester (4-3, 3.50)
Game 3 of 3 6:05PM @ Fenway
The Sox will bid adieu to the Birds for a month after this evening's game at Fenway, and the way these last few games have gone it's not a moment too soon.
After trouncing the O's in the first three games of a four-gamer at Camden two weeks ago Boston lost the next two meetings before eeking out a win last night in a game that was a lot closer than it should have been.
The problem with these pesky avians is that a bunch of their hitters have been thriving on Red Sox pitching this season, as Hideki Okijim'a struggles have proven.
Here are some of the numbers for Baltimore batters vs. Boston pitchers this season:
-Luke Scott .462 (12-26), 2 2Bs, 3HRs, 7R, 6BI the 3rd year player acquired from Houston in the Miguel Tejada deal has been the ringleader of the Baltimore Birds of Boston Destruction as he has simply torched Boston pitching all season long; almost a 1/3rd of his 10 homers have come against the Sox
-Audrey Huff .424 (14-33) 3 2Bs, HR, 6R, 4BI the former DRay has had a lot of experience hitting Boston pitching, but never has the surly DH capped them at a .400 clip. His 2-run single off Oki the other night was the back breaker in the come-from-behind win
-Nick Markakis .364 (12-33), 5 2Bs no surprise here as the solid right fielder has hit Boston at a .300 clip for his young career, and though he doesn't have the power numbers against them he still manages to get on base vs. Boston. A lot.
-Adam Jones .303, 3 2Bs, 5BI although he's only hitting .252 overall the second-year center fielder has been having a field day against Boston; his 3-run double off (who else?) Oki won a game for the O's back in late May
This list of Boston bashers doesn't even include Kevin Millar, who's only batting .200 vs. his old mates but has 6 runs batted in and 5 runs scored against them, or Jay Payton, another ex-Sox who's hitting .294 and has driven in 8 runs in only 17 at bats against his old team this season.
Talk about the Boston stranglers.
The task of stopping these maniacs will fall on the shoulders of Jon Lester. Fresh off serving his (unwarranted) five game suspension for his role in the Raysbrawl, whatever his role may have been, Lester should be rested and ready to put brushbacks and beanballs behind him and concentrate on winning games again.
Since tossing his no hitter on May 19th Lester has one win, one loss and one ND on his record and though he hasn't pitched poorly he hasn't been close to unhittable, allowing 22 hits and 7 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings of work.
His mound opponent will be the unlucky righty Jeremy Guthrie. Despite being 10th in the league in ERA Guthrie has often fallen victim to a pitcher's worst nightmare - poor run support.
In half of Guthrie's 14 starts the O's hitters have scored three runs or less including his recent three-game losing streak in which they scored 0, 1 and 2 runs for him.
Since that streak he is 1-0 with one ND, which came in Baltimore's 6-3 win over Boston when Jones hit his game winning double off Oki. For the season Guthrie is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA against the Sox, striking out a dozen batters while walking only two in 12 1/3 innings.
As long as J.D. Drew, who has a 10 game hitting streak in which he's batting .500 (16-32) with 5 homers and 13 RBI, and Manny Ramirez, who owns a 15-game streak and has homered in 4 of his last 5 games against Baltimore, keep bashing like they have been the Sox should be alright in this one.
But it's up to Lester to calm the Baltimore bats and help the Sox win the series before they head out on a six game interleague road trip beginning in Cincy tomorrow.
Not an easy task they way these guys have been hitting Boston pitching, especially with the game set to start at six o'clock again.
6.11.2008
Sox bounce back but nearly blow win vs. O's
Sox 6, Orioles 3
WP: Colon (4-1)
LP: Olson (5-2)
SV: Papelbon (19)
HRs: BOS- Tek (7), Lowell (9); BAL-Scott (10)
SUMMARY:
The Red Sox pounced on Baltimore starter Garrett Olson for five runs in the first inning and Bartolo Colon made it stand up as he bounced back from his only loss of the season. But the Boston bully made us sweat it out as the tying run came to the plate in the ninth inning before Papelbon closed it down.
#1 STUNNER: Colon 6IP, 5H, 1ER, 1BB, 7K, HR, 93P
After the debacle of his last start, in which he gave up six runs and made a pair of costly errors in an 8-0 loss, it was nice to see the big fella rebound with a solid performance like this.
THE BIGGEST LOSER: Olson 5.1IP, 7H, 6ER, 3BB, 0K, 2HR, 98P
The surprise ace of the O's staff got his team off to a horrible start with that putrid first inning, and even though he settled down after that the damage was too much for his club to overcome.
RECAP:
See, I knew if the game didn't start at 6:00 the results would be better.
Boston readjusted nicely to the regular starting time by pounding O's starter Garret Olson for five runs on three hits, two walks a stolen base and an error in the first inning and they never looked back despite some nail biting moments in the 9th when Mike Timlin turned a comfy 6-1 into a shaky 6-3 margin with the tying run at the plate.
But when you have one of the best closers in the game at the ready it was almost anti climatic when Paps came on and calmly got the final out, as if he was saying "sorry, Mike, you had your chance and blew it, now let the big dog take this one home."
Notice Hideki Okajima wasn't anywhere near the field in this one.
With last night's and tomorrow's games starting an hour earlier presumably to accommodate Celtics fans the Sox took full advantage of the usual seven o' clock start after Bartolo Colon tossed a 1-2-3 top of the first.
Jacoby Ellsbury wasted no time starting things off when he singled to center on Olson's third pitch of the game, and after Dustin Pedroia popped out quicker than you can say "watch him go" Ellsy was on third base when Olson's errant pickoff throw on his steal attempt wound up in rightfield.
That miscue meant an easy RBI situation for the league's hottest hitter in June, J.D. Drew, and the rightfielder didn't disappoint as he roped a double down the rightfield line to score Ellsbury with ease for the first run of the game.
Manny Ramirez, the next hottest hitter on the team, managed to move Drew (1-3, R, BI, BB) to third with a groundout, and the extra base proved beneficial when Olson threw a wild pitch on ball four to Mike Lowell and Drew scampered home for a 2-0 lead.
Olson lost it from there as he surrendered another walk, this time to Kevin Youkilis after he had Youk 0-2, and then Captain Tek (1-4, R, 3BI) made him pay for his sloppiness when he blasted a towering shot over the Monster and out of the park for a back-breaking three-run homer that apparently landed on the windshield of a car in the parking lot across the street, according to the NESN cameras.
Staked to a 5-0 lead Colon went about his business, allowing a base hit here and there but never seeming worried or out of sorts like he was in his last start.
A single and a double were negated by a double play in the second inning, and although Sox killer (it's official now) Luke Scott (2-4, R, BI, 2B, HR) touched him for a solo shot to lead off the fourth, Colon responded by retiring six of the last eight batters he faced before exiting the game after six quality innings.
Despite the early success off Olson Boston could only muster one more run against the rookie southpaw, a solo shot by Lowell (1-2, 2R, BI, 2BB) to lead off the sixth, and so it was up to the bullpen to hold the five-run lead.
(gulp)
David Aardsma was first out of the pen and the hard-throwing righty, who's only pitched twice so far this month, fared pretty well, surrendering a two-out double to Adam Jones (1-4) before getting Freddie Bynum to strike out to end the inning.
After Boston blew a great chance to pad the lead when they loaded the bases on three walks in the bottom of the inning, it was Javier Lopez' turn to stifle the comeback-prone Oriole's bats in the eighth.
The lefty, who has allowed just one run in his last 12 appearances, allowed a one-out walk to fellow Sox killer Nick Markakis (1-3, BB), but a 6-4-3 double play by Melvin Mora quickly squelched that potential threat.
And then came the ninth.
With Okajima all but banished from pitching against Baltimore and the game not in a save situation, Francona called upon Tired Arm Timlin to get the last three outs and nail down the win.
Timlin's pitched less than Aardsma this month, ever since he allowed a hit and two walks in the 12th inning of Boston's 5-2 win on May 30th at Camden. So this was a chance at a little redemption for the old timer.
Instead he did his best Oki v. Baltimore imitation and had to leave the game with egg on his face.
The first batter of the ninth, last night's hero Audrey Huff, belted a double to deep right, and suddenly everyone watching had a sick feeling of where this one was heading.
Two pitches later Baltimore's Sox Killer #3, Kevin Millar, scraped a double off the wall to score Huff and the Sox sizable lead was sliced to 6-2 with a runner in scoring position and nobody out.
(GULP!)
Timlin did manage to retire Scott, who is now batting .455 against the Sox in '08, as Millar moved to third, and then a lineout by Ramon Hernandez seemed to get Timlin off the hook.
But Pedroia put his pitcher right back on the hook when for the second time in two games he booted an easy out in the ninth inning on a grounder by Jones, and as Millar crossed the plate the score was cow 6-3 Boston and everyone in the Nation was reaching for the antacids in anticipation of what was gonna happen next.
What happened next was recent callup Oscar Salazar, a former member of the Detoit Tigers who's spent the better part of the last six years in the Mexican league, slapped a single into left, and with the tying run coming to the plate Timlin could've walked off the mound right then, knowing it was time for the close to save the day.
It took five pitches for Paps to get Brian Roberts (0-5) to ground out weakly to Youk, and just like that another crisis was averted and Boston finally had a win against Baltimore after dropping the last two decisions to them by a combined score of 16-9.
The good news is the Rays lost this afternoon so the Sox gained a game in the standings and now lead the east by two games.
The bad news?
Tomorrow's starting time is six o' clock.
NOTES:
-Manny's on a roll: even though he didn't hit a homer, something he's done in four of his last five games against the O's, Manny did manage to extend his hitting streak to 15 games with his infield single in the third inning. It's the longest streak by a Bosox batter so far this season
-Colon 150: the win was career victory #150 for Bartolo Colon, who appeared to be on a fast track to 200+ wins before injuries derailed his promising career. The Sox got a scare when Colon was briefly injured when a liner by Markakis caromed off his wrist in the top of the fourth, but he shook it off and remained in the game, and pitched very well at that.
RECORD: 41-27
AL EAST: Up 2 gms
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Thu vs. BAL 6:05 Guthrie vs. Lester
Sox Drawer: Oki not O.K. when it comes to facing B-More
Hideki Okajima's mighty struggles against the Orioles highlight a deeper problem with the second year reliever.
I touched on this in my recap last night and the Globe had a piece on this puzzling situation today, but I think it needs to be explored a bit more thoroughly before we move on to Game 2 of this series.
What in the hell has happened to Hideki Okajima?
When he came to the Sox last year as a free agent from Japan it was more to be a buddy to Daisuke Matsuzaka than a dominant set up man. But a funny thing happened after he gave up a home run to Kansas City's John Buck on his first ever pitch in the major leagues - he went on to become a dominant set up man and an invaluable part of the Sox run to the World Series.
After that inauspicious debut Aki didn't allow another run until nearly two months later, and for the season he would wind up allowing 17 earned runs in 69 innings for a 2.22 ERA, compiling 27 holds and finishing 6th in the 2007 Rookie Of the Year voting.
It was as if the combination of his deceiving delivery and array of off speed pitches lulled the hitters of the league to sleep whenever he pitched.
But in 2008 those hitters have woken up.
Especially the Baltimore Oriole batters.
After last night's meltdown against the Birds Oki's ERA climbed from 1.95 to 2.89, but that leap isn't nearly as discomforting as his ghastly propensity for allowing inherited runners to score.
As the Globe article pointed out, but anyone following the team knows, Oki has allowed 11 of 14 inherited runners to score, and that alarming stat, more that ERA, is as telling a figure as any to the effectiveness of a middle reliever/set up man.
And no team has done more to damage Oki's effectiveness this season than Baltimore.
In five appearances against the Birds this season Oki has allowed 9 hits, 3 walks and 8 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Those numbers equate to a 13.50 ERA and a 6.60 WHIP, with the Baltimore hitters batting a robust .375 off the embattled lefty.
The one thing those starts don't take into account is the game-losing grand slam he allowed to Jay Payton at Camden Yards on May 14th, as only one of those runs was charged to him.
All of this turmoil has led to Hideki owning the most blown saves in the major leagues with 6, and while he still has 12 holds, good for 3rd in the AL, his penchant for allowing other people's runs to score and his inability to retire anyone in the Baltimore lineup is adding up to a very disappointing sophomore season.
Although his stuff still seems the same he hasn't been able to consistently throw strikes, and last night he threw a lot more curveballs than anything else, which led to his downfall. It seems to me that right now his problems are more mental than physical, but we know how one thing feeds the other until a situation gets out of hand.
As I said last night I'm sure that if the situation warrants it Tito will toss him right in there again tonight, or tomorrow, just so the guy can get his confidence back and get back to being an integral part of this bullpen.
But if he can't straighten things out against the Baltimores of the league, it's only a matter of time before other, quality teams start hammering him too.
Get well soon,Oki. We need ya.
6.10.2008
Oki blows another game against Baltimore as Sox lose at home
Orioles 10, Sox 6
WP: Sarfate (4-1)
LP: Okajima (1-2)
SV: None
HRs: BOS- Drew (9), Manny (15); BAL-None
SUMMARY:
Despite back-to-back home runs by the team's two hottest hitters and a gritty effort from Josh Beckett Boston dropped its second straight game to Baltimore when Hideki Okajima allowed three runs in the 7th inning, leading to the Sox sixth home loss of the year.
#1 STUNNER: Audrey Huff 4-5, 1R, 2BI
The guy may be an aggravating, arrogant, overrated and overpaid douchebag but he was the difference tonight as it was his 7th inning single that drove in two runs to tie the game and propel the O's to the win.
THE BIGGEST LOSER: Okajima 1/3IP, 2H, 3ER, 2BB, 1K, 26P
In his last two outings against the Birds Oki has allowed 6 hits, 3 walks and 7 earned runs in one full inning of work for an ERA of 63.00 and a WHIP of 9.00. Wow.
RECAP:
Maybe it's these damn 6:00 starts that are throwing everything out of whack for the Sox.
Last time it happened a benches-clearing brawl erupted, resulting in the suspension of eight players, and a couple of Boston teammates got into a slap fight on the bench.
Tonight the Sox and O's played "I want the lead, no you take it" for six innings before Baltimore pulled away for good with a pair of three run innings late.
The funniest thing, and by funny I mean absolutely asinine, is that the start times have been moved up an hour to accommodate Celtics fans who don't want to miss any of the NBA Finals games, yet the two six o'clock contests have had run times of 3 hours, 40 minutes and 3 hours, 27 minutes.
So much for that theory.
After the debacle of the first game and the meltdown of the second I say to hell with this experiment. Start the games at the normal time and just put the Sox on the PIP until its over.
And if a brawl breaks out flip it back, or if a Boston reliever melts down flick it off.
Things started out bad for Boston tonight, got worse, then cleared up for a while before a black cloud covered the park in the form of another blown save for Hideki Okajima.
To make matters worse the Celts tantalized us with a potential upset win in Game 4, only to have King Kobe and Co. hag on for a series-saving win.
Talk about a double whammy of doom.
The way the game started it looked like the Sox would cruise to another easy home win. Boston loaded the bases in the first inning before Daniel Cabrera had recorded an out on a single by Jacoby Ellsbury, a double by Dustin Pedroia and a walk to red-hot J.D. Drew.
But Cabrera (5IP, 7H, 6ER, 4BB, 3K, 2HR, 94P) escaped a potential devastating inning when he got Manny Ramirez to ground into a double play, and even though Ellsbury came in to score the damage could have - and should have - been much worse.
The missed opportunity came back to bite Boston in the ass shortly thereafter when Josh Beckett (6IP, 8H, 4ER, 1BB, 3K, 114P) gave up a four-spot to the Birds in the second inning.
After retiring Audrey Huff for the first out (and the only time on the night) Becks allowed a Monster double to original idiot Kevin Millah and then walked new nemesis Luke Scott.
As if that weren't bad enough Beckett then plunked .200-hitting catcher Ramon Hernandez (1-4, R, 2BI) to load the bases, but it appeared he would escape the inning unscathed when he got Adam Jones, the hero of Baltimore's last win over Boston, to pop out to first for the second out of the inning.
Ah, no.
Fellow Mendoza dweller Freddie Bynum promptly stroked an 0-1 offering from Beckett
off the Monster for a shocking 2-out, 2-run double, but unfortunately the hurt didn't end there. Five pitches later Brian Roberts launched another Wall-scraper to score Hernandez and Bynum, and Baltimore had a 4-1 lead on three doubles, a walk and a HBP.
Ugh.
The bottom of the second was eerily similar to the first as Boston got the first two batters on base before a double play killed what could have been a potential rally, but things turned around in the third when the Sox plated a pair of runs to climb right back in it.
Pedroia (2-3, 2R, HBP), who had been mired in a horrid 4-37 slump, started it off with a single to left for his second hit in two at bats, and after Cabrera wild pitched him to second JD drew his second walk of the game. After a single to center by Manny loaded the bases RBI groundouts by Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis cut the Orioles lead to 4-3.
Then the fireworks came in the fifth inning.
Once again Pedroia started the rally when Cabrera hit him with a pitch on the elbow on a 3-2 count, and on the very next pitch Drew (1-2, 2R, 2BI, 2BB) exacted some payback for his teammate when he crushed a fastball over the bullpens for a 2-run homer that gave the Sox a 5-4 lead.
Before the celebrating over Drew's 5th homer in his last nine games had ended Manny Ramirez, who clubbed three longballs in three games against the O's in Baltimore last series, obliterated a another fastball from Cabrera for home run #15 on the season and 505 of his career, and just like that Boston had a 6-4 lead despite Beckett's troubles and their own missed chances.
Ironically, on a night when Manny was honored for joining the 500 club by guys such as Eddie Murray, who joined Rem Dog and Don O in the booth in the previous inning, Manny passed the former Oriole great on the all-time home run list.
Pretty cool.
Unfortunately that would be the end of the good times for Boston; Beckett tossed one more inning before he was replaced in the 7th by Okajima after throwing 113 pitches on the night.
And it quickly became hide the women and children time.
A one-out walk by Roberts (1-4, 1R, 2BI) seemed harmless enough at the time, but that was followed by another Wall double, this time by Nick Markakis, and when Melvin Mora walked on a 3-1 count to load the bases it was lump in the throat time for the Faithful.
The lump came up when Huff slapped a single into right to score Roberts and Markakis and tie the game at six, and then the horrible horrible sense of deja vu was complete going back to the last time Oki pitched against the Os.
And we all remember that game.
Manny Delcarmen came in to relive a discouraged Oki and immediately allowed a sac fly to Millar (1-4, R, BI) to give Baltimore the lead back aat 7-6, and even though Manny D got out of the inning the damage was done, both to the score and Oki's psyche.
My question is why bring him in in the 7th when that inning has been the domain of Lopez, Delcarmen and Hansen in the first place, something I'm sure Tito will be second-guessed about for a few days to come?
Boston had a chance to tie the game up in the 8th but yet another double play quelled that chance, and then Hansen crushed all hopes of a comeback when he allowed three runs in the 9th, although an error by Pedroia on a potential double play grounder was a key factor in the late uprising.
No matter because this one was lost as soon as Oki stepped on the field, and my guess is Tito will throw him right back out there tomorrow so so he can get this orange and black monkey off his back.
Thank god there's no Celtics game tomorrow.
RECORD: 40-27
AL EAST: Up 1 gm
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Wed vs. BAL 7:05 Olson vs. Colon
Game Preview: Orioles @ Sox GM1
Daniel Cabrera (5-2, 3.98; 1-0, 3.21 vs. BOS in '08)
vs. Josh Beckett (6-4, 4.07; 0-1, 5.40 vs. BAL in '08)
Gm 1 of 3 6:05 @ Fenway Park
Tonight (or should I say 'this evening? thanks, Celtics!) these two AL East foes will renew their "rivalry" as the two staff aces will face off again for the second time in less than two weeks.
In that outing on May 30th in Baltimore both starters pitched well, with Beckett (6IP, 4H, 2ER, 3BB, 10K) barely having the better performance over a surprisingly solid Cabrera (7IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 2K), but the outcome wasn't decided until long after the starters had exited the ballgame.
Stellar lengthy outings by both bullpens were wasted when Baltimore's defense crumbled in the 13th inning as they committed three costly errors, leading to three unearned runs and a 5-2 Boston victory.
This time hopefully the game will end a lot sooner so the nation can watch the Celtics go up 3-0 on the L.A. Fakers in the NBA Finals; in other words no extra innings or benches-clearing brawls allowed.
After a rough stretch where Beckett allowed 30 hits including 7 homers and 16 earned runs over 27 2/3 innings, the near Cy Young winning form of 2007 has returned. Over his last three starts Becks has surrendered just 18 hits (2 homers) and 5 earned runs over 19 innings, walking just 3 batters while striking out 24, although he's just 1-1 with an ND to show for his efforts.
But a vet like him knows that as long as he keeps the ball in the yard and men off the bases, the Boston offense will eventually score enough runs early to get him a win.
Cabrera has long been an enigma for Baltimore management and fans, but this season the former wild child has turned into a more controlled man. Gone is the hairtrigger temper and erratic outings filled with as many walks as strikes, in is an even- keeled pitcher who has walked 2 batters or less in 7 of his 12 starts this season.
Still the lanky righty has not fared well in his career against Boston, posting a 2-9 record with a 6.82 ERA against the Sox in 13 starts including 0-3, 8.41 at Fenway.
Boston should get the services of Jacoby Ellsbury back tonight, and the speedsters presence plus the blazing bats of Manny Ramirez and JD Drew should combine to give Beckett all the support he'll need to get the win and start the series off right.
And if they can get it over with by 9:00PM EST, that would be much appreciated as well.
GO SOX & GO CELTS!
BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!
Series Preview: Orioles @ Sox
Streak: L1
Last 10: 5-5
Season Series: Tied 3-3
Game 1 Tuesday *6:05
Cabrera (5-2, 3.98) vs. Beckett (6-4, 4.07)
Game 2 Wednesday 7:05
Olson (5-1, 3.86) vs. Colon (3-1, 3.91)
Game 3 Thursday *6:05
Guthrie (3-6, 3.40) vs. Lester (4-3, 3.50)
* note early start times due to NBA Finals
PREVIEW:
After a much-needed off day yesterday it's time for the Sox to play ball again. Too bad it's another series against the hard-to-get-excited-about Baltimore Orioles.
For the third time in less than a month Boston will play a series against the O's, a team with no stars, no cachet, and for what seems like the 20th straight season no chance of making the playoffs.
While the Sox will add this three game set to the two-gamer they played on May 13-14 in Baltimore and the four game wraparound series at the beginning of this month, Boston has still yet to play other AL clubs like the Chicago White Sox and have only played the Indians, Angles and Twins once.
In other words, let's mix it up schedule makers; the Nation gets tired of seeing the same teams every other week.
I guess that's what interleague play is for, huh?
Anyway, since they have to play them again they might as well go and sweep the series, which they very nearly did in that memorable four game set a week and a half ago.
In that series Boston took the first three games by a combined score of 20-9 including a 13 inning win in which Baltimore committed 3 errors in the final frame, and Manny Ramirez hit his 500th (and 501st & 502nd) home run before Baltimore saved face with a 6-4 victory in the finale when Hideki Okajima melted down like Three Mile Island.
The series was also memorable because it was the last time we saw David Ortiz in action. Big Papi injured his left wrist in the game on Saturday night, the same night his partner in bashing hit his historic 500th homer. After MRIs and examinations, Ortiz was diagnosed with a torn tendon sheath and placed on the DL with a tentative timetable of a month set for his recovery time.
Since then Boston has been on an unlikely roll, winning five of its last six games despite the loss of Ortiz and for the last three games Jacoby Ellsbury, mainly because guys like Manny and JD Drew have been hotter than Indiana Jones franchise.
Drew has hit safely in his last 8 games, batting .518 (14-27) with 8 extra base hits and 10 RBIs while Manny has a 13-game streak going in which he's hitting .380 (19-50) with 6 homers and an incredible 19 RBI.
Those streaks have not only helped carry the club in Papi's absence but placed the sluggers in the Top 10 of most of the offensive categories in the AL:
Drew: 5th in AVG (.318), 2nd in OBP (.417), 4th in OPS (.926), 9th in runs (41)
Manny: 3rd in HR (14), 4th in RBI (47), 5th in OPS (.938), 5th in SLG% (.552), 3rd in XBH (29), 3rd in TB (127)
Boston will need that production to continue to make up for the loss of Ortiz and to offset the severe slumps of guys like Dustin Pedroia (4-37), Coco Crisp (7-41) and Kevin Youkilis (10-49).
Luckily they get to play the bad news O's at home this time, and with Ellsbury due back tonight and three solid starters on the mound, a sweep is definitely in their grasp before heading to Cincy for the start of interleague play tomorrow.
And thankfully we can say say by bye to B'More for another month.
6.09.2008
Sox Drawer: An off day? At home? WTF to do?
That's right, 2+ months into the season and the Sox have only had a handful of days off, and all of them have either been on the road or travel days between road trips before starting a series at Fenway.
So what's a first place club full of bored ballplayers to do with a day off in their home city? Let's take a look at some of the activities they might be getting involved in today.
With a little training Coco's positive he can perfect this maneuver before the Sox next series with the Rays
-Coco Crisp is reportedly honing his diamond skills by catching a screening of "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" followed by a personal training session with Kimbo Slice.
-Kevin Youkilis is attending athlete anger management classes, which include gently slamming your bat in the rack and stealthy 'muttering under your breath' techniques.
-Manny Ramirez is getting his hair done, although no one will notice, and bragging to his buddies at the bodega how he "bitchslapped that annoying little bald fucker" in the dugout the other day.
-Justin Masterson is checking out the Commons, the Bull & Finch, Fanueil Hall, the Aquarium and Chinatown, because he's been told that's what all visitors to the Hub must do.
-J.D. Drew is looking at himself in the mirror with the Bible opened in front of him and repeating the mantra "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me" about 150 times.
-Dustin Pedroia is working hard in the batting cages, determined to get out of his wretched 5-49 skid lest someone utter the phrase "sophomore slump" around him.
-Curt Schilling is blogging about the "sweet court side seats" he scored for last night's Celtics game.
-Mike Lowell is sitting poolside with a Tommy Bahama shirt open to the navel, sipping Mojitos and basking in the glow of having movie star looks and primo athlete talent.
-Jon Lester is still responding to the 1000's of fan letters he has received from cancer survivors and other less fortunate people since his no hitter. He's only got three more sacks to go.
-Hideki Okajima and Daisuke Matsuzaka are texting Yu Darvish and bragging about how much they've been embraced by the Japanese community in town. Then they're going to see "Kung Fu Panda."
-David Aardsma, Craig Hansen, Manny Delcarmen, Mike Timlin and Javier Lopez are taking bets on who will be the next one to implode on the mound. Loser has to buy the first round at The Rack.
-Brandon Moss is sitting on the side of his hotel room bed just waiting for the phone to ring.
Sure enough it does. It's Masterson saying "they call you yet?"
Enjoy the off day, fellas!
6.08.2008
Sox win again as Masterson remains undefeated
Sox 2, Seattle 1
WP: Masterson (3-0)
LP: Green (1-2)
SV: Papelbon (18)
HRs: BOS-Drew (8); SEA-None
SUMMARY:
JD Drew remained hot at the plate, homering for the second straight game and extending his hitting streak to 8 games, and Justin Masterson continued to pitch like a seasoned vet rather than a real rookie as the Sox took the series from Seattle despite netting just five base hits.
#1 STUNNER: Drew 1-3, 1R, 2BI, HR
Not only is the right fielder blazing with the bat, homering for the fourth time in the last eight games, but he is providing spectacular defense in the field, too, as his highlight reel catch of a Richie Sexon blast in the second inning proved.
THE BIGGEST LOSER: Sean Green 2.1IP, 3H, 1ER, 0BB, 3K, HR
The league leader in appearances came on in relief of starter Erik Bedard an had just one mission to accomplish: keep the score tied. Instead he allowed a homer to Drew on his 5th pitch which turned out to be the difference in the game.
RECAP:
At the rate these guys are going who needs Ellsbury, Papi and Dice-K?
I know I've joked about this before but it's starting to appear to be true because no matter what lineup combo or starting pitcher Francona runs out there the Sox still have an excellent chance to win every time out.
Especially with Manny, Drew and Masterson as hot as the suddenly summer-like Boston weather.
Drew extended his torrid hitting streak to eight games, in which he's batting an even .500 (15-30) with 6 walks, 4 homers and 12 RBI, while Manny's 6th inning single prolonged his streak to 13 games, raising his average from .280 to .302 in that time.
And Masterson, as corny and cliched and overused as this phrase is, has truly been masterful as he has yet to lose in his young career and continues to astound and impress everyone in baseball every time he takes the mound.
Think the Stankees wish they had someone like this coming up from their farm system to bail them out?
But as well as the 23-year-old Jamaican born phenom has been he still hasn't even secured a spot in this tough-to-crack Red Sox rotation.
With Dice-K due back soon and Buchholz too experienced to leave in the minors for very long, Masterson, who still has plenty of options and minor league seasoning left, would appear to be the odd man out.
Unless he keeps pitching like this. Then there's no way they can keep him at Pawtucket, age and experience level non withstanding.
For the third time in four career starts Masterson (6IP, 3H, 1ER, 3BB, 4K, 88P) allowed just 1 earned run. He went at least six innings for the fourth straight time, and has yet to throw more than 95 pitches in any of his starts.
His ERA is 2.59, his WHIP is 1.07 and batters are hitting less than .200 off of him.
Like I said, gonna be hard to send this kid back down with numbers like that.
Today he got touched for a run early, but the situation could have been a lot worse if not for a superb catch by J.D. Drew. After walking the first two batters of the second inning, slumping Richie Sexson sliced a screaming liner to right center field that looked like it was going to go for a sure bases-clearing double.
But out of nowhere Drew raced over and snared the sinking liner with an awesome over-the-shoulder catch, saving two runs, and even though one runner advanced and came home on a groundout the potential for a big inning for Seattle was snuffed out with that catch.
That was the entire offense on the day as Boston held the M's to a mere three base hits, and once the Sox tied the game in the third you got the feeling that it was just a matter of time before they took control of this one.
Boston finally got to Bedard (5IP, 2H, 1ER, 3BB, 5K, 99P), who had handcuffed them last month in Seattle, in the third when they tied the game on only one base hit.
Coco Crisp started the rally with a one out single to right, then Bedard walked Brandon Moss and Dustin Pedroia to set up a bases loaded, tow out situation for Drew, and the slugger came through with an RBI once again, although this time he didn't get a hit but got hit with a Bedard pitch, tying the game at one.
After both teams traded a couple of scoreless innings Mariner manager John McLaren for some reason removed Bedard after the fifth, despite the fact that he had only allowed the one run and three hits, and Drew immediately jumped at the opportunity to face a new pitcher.
Sean Green came in as the leader in appearances in the American League with 32 and had only allowed one home run all season, April 24th against the Orioles.
Until today.
Green jumped ahead of Drew 0-2 before the rightfielder took a ball and fouled one off, then he blasted a bomb to the black seats in centerfield for his 8th home run and second in two days, and with the score 2-1 it was up to the Sox bullpen to bring the series win home.
Craig Hansen came in to relieve Masterson to start the seventh and after surrendering a leadoff walk the rejuvenated righty, who hasn't allowed an earned run in his last six appearances, set the next three Mariners down in order, the last two by strikeout.
Hideki Okajima, who has also settled down since his meltdown in Baltimore, tossed a 1-2-3 eighth, and then Jonathan Papelbon, who was victimized for an unearned run thanks to a rare Kevin Youkilis error yesterday, needed all of five pitches to dispatch what was left of the Mariners in the 9th for his 17th save and close out the win.
Tomorrow the Sox will enjoy a rare off day at home before taking on the O's on Tuesday, and if all goes well Jacoby Ellsbury should be back for that game, with Matsuzaka and Buchholz soon to follow him back to the big club.
If there's room for those guys.
RECORD: 40-26
AL EAST: Up 1 1/2 gms
STREAK: W2
LAST 10: 8-2
UP NEXT: Mon-Off; Tue vs. BAL @ Fenway 7:05
Game Preview: Mariners @ Sox GM3
Bedard (4-4, 4.47) vs. Masterson (2-0, 1.95)
Game 3 of 3 1:35 @ Fenway
The rubber game of this series features an enticing pitching matchup, with Seattle's big bucks off-season acquisition Erik Bedard going up against the new kid on the Boston pitching block, Justin Masterson.
For the first time in his young career Masterson did not get sent right back to the minors following his last start. Instead, with Daisuke Matsuzaka still on the mend and Clay Buchholz working on his mechanics in Pawtucket, Masterson was allowed to stick around with the big club after his second career victory last Tuesday, a six inning, four earned run performance against the Rays on Tuesday.
You have to think the experience of palling around with the big boys would only help the 23-year-old's development, although with all the shenanigans that have gone on this week I'm not sure this was the best time to have him hanging around.
Oh well, just like our kids he's gotta learn about the real world someday.
His mound opponent Bedard finally lived up to his offseason hype as the savior of the M's staff in his last outing; unfortunately his breakout performance came against the Sox.
On May 28th in Seattle the hard throwing lefty pitched seven innings of 2-hit, 8-strikeout shutout ball, proving to the Seattle fans and ballclub that he was worth the enormous financial and psychical package the Mariners gave up in acquiring him from Baltimore in the offseason.
The question for them is, can he do it again?
In his next outing following that gem Bedard surrendered 5 runs (4 earned) and seven hits with three walks and one strikeout in 3 1/3 innings in a 5-4 loss to the Angels, looking more like Julian Tavarez than a staff centerpeice.
He was booed off the Safeco mound after that wretched performance, so maybe a start away from home is exactly what he needs.
Let's hope not.
The real question about today's game is what kind of lineup configuration is Tito "the Juggler" Francona going to come out with today. With so many regulars out or nursing injuries, we could almost create a game show out of this new daily routine.
"Who's gonna leadoff for the Bosox" or "Are you stronger at the top or bottom of the lineup" could be a couple of contenders.
As always we'll just have to wait and see.
As long as whomever's out there puts some runs on the board and keeps Masterson's winning streak intact, it's all good.
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